Never allow your wanton desires to interfere with the basic needs and interests of others and live simply so others may simply live

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

A Scheme of Greed and Deceit

By Dee Newman

While the press focused on tabloid scandals
And sports rivalries, Wall Street financiers
Switch from being investors to vandals –
Unregulated, ruthless profiteers.
While a Republican controlled Congress
Borrowed and spent nearly two billion bucks
A week on an undeclared and endless
“War on terror,” giving massive tax cuts
To the rich which not only failed to spur
Growth, but also allowed austerity
Measures to be passed that have further
Increased income disparity,
As well as, the national debt – threefold,
The puppets of the plutocrats, against
Their own int’rests, continue to extol
“Voodoo economics,” with an incensed
Rage. As these fear-distracted populists,
Led by their demagogues, attempt to frame
Unions and immigrants for the long lists
Of crimes for which they, themselves, are to blame,
Congress turns a blind-eye to our despair,
Cutting programs for all us common folk
In order to fund corporate welfare,
Bailing out all those banks as we go broke.
By far, the most effective deception
Promoted by the filthy-affluent
Is the persistently false perception
That opportunity is pursuant
To will, hard work, and capitalism.
In truth, the wealthy are compensated
In direct proportion to the “gross” sum
Of the suffering they’ve administrated.
This system – where “one percent” can amass
Nearly half of our nation’s wealth,
While the distressed hard-working middle class
Struggle to survive the exploitive stealth
Of the privileged and moneyed elite,
Is a scheme – promoted as “supply-side
Economics” – of greed and deceit,
That cannot be ethically justified,
Or, for that matter, fiscally sustained
When unregulated and unrestrained.

I keep waiting for Americans to get seriously annoyed. We sure seem to take a lot of crap. Though if you asked me personally what to do about it all, besides "voting with my dollar" as you discussed in a previous post, and writing elected officials, I honestly couldn't answer you.

My Pledge to the Readers of this Blog

The progress of social justice is slow and measured. Its growth depends on an increasing number of us becoming aware of the truth and consequences of our actions.

I believe that it is morally wrong to allow our wanton desires to interfere with the basic needs and interests of other sentient beings.

I believe the physical and psychological abuse – confinement, social deprivation, mutilation, genetic and reproductive manipulation, and profit exploitation – imposed by us on other animals is morally wrong.

I believe the suggestion that the exploitation of other sentient beings by humans can be achieved without cruelty, violence, or injustice is false and misleading.

As an advocate for all life, committed to compassion and justice, I refuse to take part in the exploitation of other sentient beings or to collaborate with those caught up in such injustice.

I pledge to do my best to live a life that conveys a clear, sincere and uncompromised message that is free of resentment, fear, exploitation, anger, cynicism, and manipulation.

Furthermore, I pledge to continue to support a broad range of nonviolent initiatives and programs that will hopefully one day eliminate the needless pain and suffering we inflict upon all the many wonderful creatures with whom we share this planet.